30. New Jersey Devils : Kasperi Kapanen 29. Los Angeles Kings : Brendan Lemieux 28. Tampa Bay Lightning : Julius Honka 27. Chicago Blackhawks : Conner Bleackley 26. Montreal Canadiens : Nick Schmaltz 25. Boston Bruins : Alex Tuch 24. Anaheim Ducks : Jack Dougherty 23. Colorado Avalanche : Travis Sanheim 22. Pittsburgh Penguins : Nikolay Goldobin 21. St. Louis Blues : Joshua Ho-Sang 20. San Jose Sharks : Brendan Perlini 19. Tampa Bay Lightning : Ivan Barbashev 18. Minnesota Wild : Roland McKeown 17. Philadelphia Flyers : Sonny Milano 16. Columbus Blue Jackets : Jakub Vrà¡na 15. Detroit Red Wings : Adrian Kempe 14. Dallas Stars : Robby Fabbri
13. The Washington Capitals select Centre Dylan Larkin of the USNTDP in the USHL
6’0, 192lbs, 1996-07-30 : 17 years old
26 – 17g – 9a – 26p
Unlike many, I think Larkin will be the first American player taken in this draft. He’s not as gifted and offensively talented as Milano, nor is he as monstrously big and physically intimidating as Tuch, he’s in the middle and that counts for a lot. He brings some grit; he brings some skill, more importantly he brings one of the better defensive games in the draft at this young stage in his career. The versatile blend he brings screams “NHL Player.… He’s a natural shoot first centre and is dangerous around the net. Playing on the second line constantly hasn’t helped his numbers (which are still strong), but it’s hard to feel bad about having to play behind Jack Eichel at every stage this year (USHL, USDP and U18’s). In the end, it isn’t so bad because that is likely his NHL trajectory: a difficult to play against scoring defensive centre that you can line up against an opponent’s top line that plays a simple North-South game.
He has been described as being a “heart and soul… player by some scouts, some of that was on evidence at the U18’s when last I saw him. He was out taking some important draws in the Gold game against the Czech Republic. He was really good that game, especially in the first period where he was buzzing around the net (though Milano stole the show that game to be honest). His skating lacks a great top gear so that is a major area needed for improvement, though he isn’t a slug out there by any means. Another would be playmaking, he does a lot of the work on his own and I could see finding players that have that kind of “instant… chemistry with him being a difficult task. In the end though, what you’re going to get from him are goals and defensive awareness.
If the Capitals are really about to make a culture change, this would be a solid fit there. In 3 years or so after his stint at the University of Michigan he can play for Trotz who would absolutely love him…if Trotz hasn’t been fired after a massive tantrum.
Comparison : Ryan Kesler
Thanks for reading.